Commute stipend boosts legislators' pay, but not all take it

BOSTON -- Although state lawmakers are taking a $1,100 pay cut this year, many will still boost their salaries just by driving to work.

Under state law, state representatives and senators are entitled to a taxpayer-funded per diem for each day they travel to the Statehouse on official business.

In 2012, the state shelled out more than $200,000 to lawmakers for each day they worked in Boston.

The stipend varies depending on how far a lawmaker lives from the Statehouse. The payments range from $10 per day for those who live in Greater Boston to $90 per day for some in Western Massachusetts to $100 per day for those on Nantucket.

Lawmakers are not required to collect a per diem, and some choose not to.

Seven of the region's 11 state representatives took advantage of the perk in 2012. Only one of the area's five state senators, Susan Fargo, received the payment.

State Rep. David Nangle leads the pack among those lawmakers who take advantage of the deal. The Lowell Democrat was paid $3,588 on top of his $61,132 salary last year, or $26 for each of the 106 times he commuted to Boston.

Rep. Jim Arciero was not far behind. The Westford Democrat was paid $2,756 for 106 trips to Boston, or $26 per trip.

Democratic Rep. Charles Murphy of Burlington collected $1,458 for 81 trips into Boston at $18 each time, while Democratic Rep. Colleen Garry of Dracut received $1,872 for 72 trips.

State Reps.

Advertisement

Kevin Murphy of Lowell and Corey Atkins of Concord received $910 and $846 for 35 and 47 trips to Boston, respectively.

Fargo, a Lincoln Democrat who has since retired, received $1,998 for traveling to Boston on 111 days.

Lawmakers choosing not to take a per diem include former state Rep. Paul Adams, R-Andover, as well as Reps. Tom Golden, D-Lowell, and Marc Lombardo, R-Billerica. State senators declining the per diem include Sen. Eileen Donoghue, D-Lowell, Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, Barry Finegold, D-Andover, and Kenneth Donnelly, D-Arlington.

Some lawmakers are trying to end per diems.

State Rep. Ryan Fattman, R-Sutton, plans to reintroduce a bill this month that would ban legislators who were first elected to the Legislature in November from collecting per diems. Legislators who previously held office would be able to keep the benefit.

"Most people don't get paid to drive to work," said Fattman, who was first elected in 2010, and did not take a per diem in 2012. "Most companies do not pay their employees for where they live. They expect them to show up. They expect them to drive to work."

Many legislators also supplement their pay with income from other jobs. The pay cut legislators will receive this year reflects a 1.8 percent decline in the median household income over the past two years.

Supporters of per diems say the benefit puts legislators on an equal playing field when it comes to travel costs. It costs lawmakers from western Massachusetts more money to commute to Boston than those who live closer to the city. These lawmakers also incur additional expenses if they spend the night in Boston during busy weeks of the legislative session.

Lawmakers are reimbursed for more than the cost to travel to Boston, however. While a lawmaker from Lowell is reimbursed $26 for each trip to the Statehouse, the cost of gas for the 60-mile round trip is about a quarter of that in a Toyota Camry.

Golden has taken the per diem in the past, but said he has opted not to in recent years due to the state's budget woes. Still, Golden said he does not support eliminating the perk because he said it puts lawmakers on an equal playing field when it comes to travel costs.

Golden also said lawmakers have to do a considerable amount of driving in their district as part of their duties.

"Most of our job is meeting-based," he said. "It's based on going from meeting to meeting to meeting."

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.